Another step towards combining professional and private life in Cattolica Assicurazioni. The Company and Trade Unions signed an agreement promoting the return to work after children are born, thanks to new rules set by working hours regulations.

It is another part of the strategy carried out by the Group in recent months on work-life balance, namely the balance between an employee's work performance and personal and family needs. It joins two previous agreements signed in past months: Welfare 2017, which envisages a bonus in the form of reimbursement for school, cultural, and social/assistance expenses incurred by associates; and Smart Working, which offers the possibility of working outside the usual office spaces for a couple of days per week.

The new “hourly parental leave” project dedicated first and foremost to mothers – but which also involves fathers – allows parents to return to work gradually after pregnancy, meaning that the return is organised more effectively and sustainably.

The innovation comes in the “voluntary maternity leave” of six consecutive months, or 180 days spread out over the first six years of the child's life, which begin once the “obligatory” maternity leave has been used. It can also be used hourly, and no longer only daily, avoiding the significant reduction to salary and therefore, to family income.

Once the “obligatory” stage has ended, a voluntary period starts during which the employee’s salary is reduced by 30 per cent, borne by INPS, the Italian Social Welfare Institution. With the new system, on the other hand, when the child is only four months old mothers or fathers can return to work with a minimum half-day attendance, but remaining employed under a full-time contract.

“The agreement,” explained Samuele Marconcini, HR and Organisation Manager of the Cattolica Assicurazioni Group, “will allow colleagues to work a few hours per day, balancing the commitment of daily work with time required by family. This means meeting new family needs whilst not losing contact with Company life for several months, with the advantage of guaranteeing the professional continuity of a career and limiting the reduction of income.”

“In the past five years,” confirmed Marconcini, “the Group has had 50 births on average per year. We believe that we are meeting the needs of new parents, who will be able to better combine their professional and family commitments. Thanks to the agreement, our relationship with the Trade Unions has stepped up a gear, now characterised by transparency and the creation of increasingly better working conditions, as we saw previously with the Welfare and Smart Working agreements.”